Cooling overhaul project

[Thefunk]

My understanding is that with a liquid to air setup, it doesn’t matter how much you upgrade, heat soak is inevitable. It is prolonged with larger more efficient bits however it still happens.
Also:
When an air to air is front mount like old school aftermarket setups, then while sitting in traffic without air flowing through, it can be an issue. But. It doesn’t look like that is how Z1 has designed theirs. If they sit up against the rad/ a/c condenser, then when the fans kick on they will pull air through and cool the intercoolers off. (I believe this is how they are setup.)
Mk2 MR2’s had an air to air setup with a fan which worked fine. Also if one were having cooling issues with an air to air setup, you could add a couple Spal fans to the mix and take care of it.

The fans turn on when the water temp hits a threshold right? How would that help the air temp if the threshold water temp isn't reached to activate the fans?

 

[5thZ]

I guess if it's really a problem you could always get spray nozzles to shoot water on the intercooler lol

 

[VR30Infection]

The fans turn on when the water temp hits a threshold right? How would that help the air temp if the threshold water temp isn't reached to activate the fans?

With an air to air setup there is no issue while the car is moving. So, any worry would be regarding things like stop and go traffic in which the fans would turn on to keep the car cool. I wasn’t implying that you would be relying on the fans. Just pointing out that with them up against the condenser and radiator, when the fans kick on, it would help the equation. Have you ever driven a car hard extracting the performance out of it and not had the fans kick on?

 

[VR30Infection]

I guess if it's really a problem you could always get spray nozzles to shoot water on the intercooler lol

We used to do that back in the day. Run the windshield washer setup to spray the intercooler. Never extracted any data but we were convinced it was amazing. Lol

 

[Midz10]

I think the Z1 Air-to-Air Intercooler Kit is the best and cheapest option. Almost no heat soak issues unlike the water setup.

It costs like $300 more than just the AMS intercoolers and you will save on heat exchanger, water pump upgrade and air intake kit.

Plus clean the engine bay AND you can get rid of the ugly dual expansion tanks and maybe use a single aftermarket tank from the 370z.


I will be going this route.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

I think the Z1 Air-to-Air Intercooler Kit is the best and cheapest option. Almost no heat soak issues unlike the water setup.

It costs like $300 more than just the AMS intercoolers and you will save on heat exchanger, water pump upgrade and air intake kit.

Plus clean the engine bay AND you can get rid of the ugly dual expansion tanks and maybe use a single aftermarket tank from the 370z.


I will be going this route.

Keep in mind the Z1 kit requires hacking up your rad support pretty severely. I do not believe the Greddy kit does.

I've said this before but its becoming more and more surprising to me that Z1 takes such a lazy approach to design. Virtually all of the products I've looked at (air to air kit, undertray) all require some sort of fabrication to install.

 

[Midz10]

The Greddy one removes some of these panels the Z1 modify. It looks better, but costs like $1k more.

And for some reason I can't see the Greddy one Offord anywhere even on their website.

 

[traska_rz34]

I ordered a bunch of parts from both CZP (under shroud) and Z1 and honestly, both of them gave incredible customer service. I ended up on the phone with Z1 twice today and both reps I spoke with were outstanding. I had to email CZP because Apple Pay wasn't working and they emailed me back within like 5 minutes.

 

[kevinbonds]

I ordered a bunch of parts from both CZP (under shroud) and Z1 and honestly, both of them gave incredible customer service. I ended up on the phone with Z1 twice today and both reps I spoke with were outstanding. I had to email CZP because Apple Pay wasn't working and they emailed me back within like 5 minutes.

CZP has always been my go to, I have their undershroud and it’s a really nice piece. It went on perfect and was a nice gauge of aluminum.

 

[Midz10]

I ordered a bunch of parts from both CZP (under shroud) and Z1 and honestly, both of them gave incredible customer service. I ended up on the phone with Z1 twice today and both reps I spoke with were outstanding. I had to email CZP because Apple Pay wasn't working and they emailed me back within like 5 minutes.

I have been dealing with CZP from 2014 and spent over $10k with them. They are the best.

And I just made a big 1st order with Z1 and they were very amazing too.

Both have been the best for OEM and aftermarket parts for the 300ZX/350Z/370Z and now Z for over a decade now.

 

[Thefunk]

Keep in mind the Z1 kit requires hacking up your rad support pretty severely. I do not believe the Greddy kit does.

I've said this before but its becoming more and more surprising to me that Z1 takes such a lazy approach to design. Virtually all of the products I've looked at (air to air kit, undertray) all require some sort of fabrication to install.

From Greddy
"It is necessary to cut the retainer on the front bumper, remove or cut the engine cover, and bend the AC tube"
https://www.greddy.com/products/greddy-intercooler-kit-z-rz34-type-29-12020227

 

[5thZ]

From Greddy
"It is necessary to cut the retainer on the front bumper, remove or cut the engine cover, and bend the AC tube"
https://www.greddy.com/products/greddy-intercooler-kit-z-rz34-type-29-12020227

Interesting. I wonder how large the air intakes are. Happy they're a little shielded at least. Wonder if this intercooler design is better than Z1's

 

[NocturnalEmber]

From Greddy
"It is necessary to cut the retainer on the front bumper, remove or cut the engine cover, and bend the AC tube"
https://www.greddy.com/products/greddy-intercooler-kit-z-rz34-type-29-12020227

I'd much rather cut the retainer on the front bumper than hollow out metal from my radiator shroud. The amount of metal Z1 shows being removed is imho, gratuitous. Goes back to my point that they should just design their products better. This isn't a one off for them, it's a habit.

Engine cover doesn't bother me, the way greddy has it shaved I think actually looks better, shows off the intercooler pipes well. Bending the AC tube is tolerable, because those do flex.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

Interesting. I wonder how large the air intakes are. Happy they're a little shielded at least. Wonder if this intercooler design is better than Z1's

Given Z1's habit of designing products, I'd say Greddy's kit is likely better. Probably subjective, but if I had to put my money on one product, it would be the greddy kit hands down, the reputation speaks for it imho.

 

[Thefunk]

I'd much rather cut the retainer on the front bumper than hollow out metal from my radiator shroud. The amount of metal Z1 shows being removed is imho, gratuitous. Goes back to my point that they should just design their products better. This isn't a one off for them, it's a habit.

Engine cover doesn't bother me, the way greddy has it shaved I think actually looks better, shows off the intercooler pipes well. Bending the AC tube is tolerable, because those do flex.

For those of us that aren't mechanics modifying metal and/or mounts isn't quite appealing. Z1 has a habit of assuming all of their customers are mechanics. As to their quality control, so far so good, except their aluminum oil pan also uses aluminum threads which I happened to sheer off with 25ft/lbs of torque. Luckily I had a 25mm M12x1.25 zinc bolt to replace the oil drain plug. At least they sent me a new one which I will eventually install a helicoil made of steel.